Welcome to the Croisette

Over four whirlwind days, our Founder and CEO, Emily Pritchard, experienced the full scope of Cannes: brand activations, product demos, C-suite panels, villa dinners, and unplanned conversations in line for events. What stood out most wasn’t only the advancement of tech in our industry, but more importantly, the people using it with intention. Creativity and community showed up everywhere, often in small, human moments.

As Steven Bartlett of Flight Story put it, “In the era of AI, being human is in vogue.” 

The standout insights came from those willing to challenge assumptions, reimagine creativity, and center human connection in our tech-driven world. Here are five themes we’re still thinking about after wrapping up the week in Cannes…

1. Human Connection > Automation

AI may power the engine, but emotion drives the experience. Reddit’s CEO described the platform as “the most human place on the internet,” and its new Reddit Answers feature is doubling down on real conversations by real people. Across sessions, one truth emerged: people want to connect with people.

“Real humans want to talk to real humans.”
-Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit

2. Your Brand Is Now Talking To AI Agents, Not Just Humans

Microsoft’s CMO introduced the idea of “Full Stack Marketers” and the ability to go from concept to creation, further than ever before without needing ideas to get passed through silos or departments. The same is true for consumers and their rapid adoption of AI.  We’re no longer just marketing to people, we’re marketing to their AI agents. This changes everything about brand presence, tone, and technical integration.

“You’re not just building a relationship with a customer. You’re building a relationship with their agent.” 
-Yusuf Mehdi, EVP and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft

3. Creators Now Influence Even More Parts Of The Customer Journey

Influencers have graduated from media line items to strategic growth drivers. DoorDash, Ulta Beauty, and Lowe’s shared how creators now touch every part of the funnel—from product discovery to same-day delivery.

“Creators are driving commerce—full funnel, connected media.”
-Jennifer Wilson, CMO of Lowe’s

4. Innovation is Embracing Failure

With so much innovation happening across the industry, Christina Diezhandino, CMO of Diageo, and Steven Bartlett, founder of Flight Story, shared powerful reminders that innovation thrives when failure isn’t feared but built into the system. Guinness Zero took two decades to perfect. By changing 10 seconds of a podcast, Flight Story grew subscriptions more than 300x. These types of innovations don’t happen overnight, but when failures lead to success, the opportunity for exponential growth to compound over time comes at the right moment.

“If you want to increase your rate of innovation, increase your rate of experimentation.”
-Steven Bartlett, Founder of Flight Story

5. Culture Is a Business Strategy

Shaping culture – both in your world and within your team – isn’t just a mood board or vibe check. It’s a metric. Brands like Mastercard and McLaren Racing showcased how values embedded into operations—from inclusive design to leadership development — fuel your fandom’s growth, loyalty, and resilience.

“Brands shape what culture is. The responsibility to do that from a moral point of view is paramount.”
-Misan Harriman, Founder of Culture3

What’s The TSL Raison D’être Of Cannes?

The most important thing we can take away from Cannes Lions is that even in a world of algorithms, automation, and AI, the future is still fundamentally human. It’s in the conversations that happen after the session ends or the introductions that turn into collaborations.

At The Social Lights, we believe in powering brighter futures. This week confirmed that the brightest future is a hybrid one: where human ingenuity meets technological acceleration.

Follow Emily Pritchard on LinkedIn to read more about her experience at Cannes. Here’s to Cannes Lions 2026!